The present invention is directed to optical infrared thermography, and the use thereof in monitoring, measuring and characterizing the performance of a fuel cell.
Optical pyrometry has been used effectively for measuring the surface temperatures of various materials, particularly incandescent materials, and in evaluating catalytic activity, reactivity of monomers or other reactants, the rates of reactions, or reaction conditions of thin film samples. Typically a thin film sample is evaluated and the temperatures of the samples are recorded. Higher peak temperatures, for example, have been used to screen various catalysts, with those samples exhibiting higher peak temperatures presumed to have higher catalytic activity under a given set of conditions.
Electrochemical cells, including proton exchange membrane fuel cells, sensors, electrolyzers, and electrochemical reactors, are known in the art. Typically, the central component of such a cell is a membrane electrode assembly, comprising two catalyzing electrodes separated by an ion-conducting membrane (ICM, also called PEM for proton exchange membrane), often referred to as a Membrane Electrode Assembly (MEA). In a fuel cell, the MEA is sandwiched between two porous, electrically-conductive backing layers to form a 5-layer assembly. When the 3-layer MEA comprises a central polymeric membrane, the fuel cell is often referred to as a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). In a typical low-temperature fuel cell, hydrogen gas is oxidized at the anode and oxygen gas (usually as air) is reduced at the cathode:

PEMFCs are seen as a potential energy source for, e.g., electric vehicles, since PEMFCs have been shown to exhibit high-energy conversion efficiency, high power density and negligible pollution. In a vehicle such as an automobile, one convenient source of hydrogen gas can be the steam reformation of methanol, since methanol can be stored more easily in a vehicle than hydrogen.
However, the high cost and performance problems of existing fuel cells have inhibited widespread commercial adaptation. Considerable effort continues in the development of new materials and construction, but testing of new fuel cells and components thereof, under operating conditions is a difficult challenge.